enjoy

this will be brief as i type one handed with a child on my lap. but i thought these were blog-worthy.

this is what your birthday looks like when it is two days after your son's birthday:

you get one photo- that's all- eyes don't have to be open
you get left over birthday cake all cut up and put in a pan because we got one of those gigantic super yummy Costco cakes- nevermind that we only have three cake-eaters in our family (if you are wondering the cake says "Birthday holas!")
you get to use the 3 candle from Nicholas' birthday this year and the 2 candle from last year- what luck!
and...
you get the two most perfect children to sit on your lap for the entire 26 second celebration!
i loved all 26 seconds!

sorry sarah, martha, and emily...Aunt Laura beat you to the punch with this shirt! (awesome, huh!) Laura, they are all probably wondering where you found it and kicking themselves that they didn't find is first!

and well, here's nick, pre-nap today

enjoy

Stella Crawling

let's give this a try...



GREAT!
now see our links to more videos on the right!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

What happened to my little baby? Now he is 3!! This is a picture from just one year ago...

We had a great party today. Everyone had a great time. Shawn and I decorated the house like a rainforest to go along with the Go Diego Go theme. You like? I am thinking of carrying it throughout the rest of the house.

Shawn dressed up like Diego. (I was Alicia.)



Nick and his friends played games, took turns hitting a pinata, ate pizza and cake, opened presents, and had a great time playing with each other. He got some really wonderful presents. See FLICKR Pictures link!!
He opened family gifts after everyone went home. He loved them all. Thanks so so so very much. He received way more than any trhee year old needs.

Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-treat!! What a night! We had one Doggie Dog (Nicholas). You see the stuffed animal dog he is holding? That is Doggie Dog- his special toy and friend. That is what/who he wanted to be. I tried to paint a dog nose on Nicholas but it just wasn't working. Guess we should have practiced before tonight. Yes, I made that costume.

And we had one baby with a spider hat on (Stella). I can hear you applauding my creativity with her costume...thank you. OH, Stella crawled yesterday for the first time! She shuffled on her hands and knees four times before plopping on her belly. She was after something and quit when she got there. It was so cool to watch her go! So I moved her back and watched her do it over and over. She will be eight months old tomorrow. Geesh.

It was just too bad Shawn couldn't have enjoyed it with us. Not long after dinner Nick was ready in his costume and I was putting Stella in her bunting. Then Nick asked me, "Mommy, what is your costume?" I said, "I am dressed up as your mom." He had seen a dad in costume with his kids at our door (he asked "Mommy what was that black thing? That dad?") The dad was dressed in some black gown with a mask. But I think that's where he got the idea to ask. Then we grabbed our lights, loaded Stella up in the stroller and took Nicholas to about eight houses. That is plenty of candy for an almost-three-year-old. We got cold, too. I kept asking him if he was ready to go home and he said no, that we were getting candy for Daddy. One time I asked him and he said that we have to keep going because Daddy is really hungry! (so cute)

This has been the least snowy Halloween yet! The trick-or-treators were actually in costumes- I didn't see one snow suit all night. Coats and hats, but not snow bibs! Nicholas had fun watching the kids come up the steps to the door. Then he'd put one tiny piece of candy in their bags (and I followed it up with a handful more). Still we are left with a ridiculous amount of candy left over. The first halloween we lived here, we had so many trick-or-treators I had to reach into the pantry and hand out microwave popcorn to the last few kids- and it was extremely cold that year. In the 20s I think. It was "warm" this year and we could have gotten away with a bag or two. Oh well.

So back home, Nick wanted to eat the suckers

Stella wanted to eat her hat

And these are the best pictures I can get after begging them to sit next to each other and sit still.




OH and does anyone watch Dancing with the Stars? What the heck?!? Sabrina and Mark got kicked off!??! Injustice. : )

Nap Time!

Oh how I love nap time! It is the only time I can get something done. We have been so busy lately that these are the only pictures I have to share. Nicholas and Stella are both asleep right now....well at least Stella is. Nick just woke up. Well, he was sleeping with his stool on top of him. When he puts it over his back, he says he's a turtle! Sooo clever! He must still be tired though. I was out running errands today and we were over at JoAnn's. I had remembered reading about a kids play place over there and thought I would seek it out. It was pretty cool. It was $5 for 30 min. It was basically an old store that had been filled with a bunch of those air-inflated toys- like those bounce houses. Anyway it was a perfect place for me to contain Nicholas while I fed Stella. When he walked into the play area his head was just spinning; he didn't know what to start playing on first! He had so much fun. Stella even got to play a little before our time was up! Well, today I need to start sewing Nicholas' halloween costume. He has a costume party on Monday. How's that for a deadline!


Think it's time for us to get a new camera? That one of Stella is pretty bad.

First Swim Lesson

I can't believe it, but Nicholas had his first swimming lesson last night! It all happened so fast, too. I mean, I didn't even realize he was enrolled in the class until Sunday night, at, oh, 10pm! I had emailed the swimming coordinator just to ask about lessons. I truly figured that he was too young right now anyway. So she emailed me back and asked for his name and age and mentioned something about the October session. Then last Wednesday I realized that October was in a few days! So I emailed her again (emailing is the only way you can reach this lady, too) and asked what I had to do next. I hadn't heard anything. Then Sunday night, I was reading my emails and I got one from her that said "nothing, see you Monday." So then my heart started pounding...Monday was tomorrow!! Good thing Suzanne brought Nicholas a swim suit when she came to viisit! (thanks again!) I was officially over-scheduled yesterday. Yoga was in the morning. Then I had invited friends down to play and have lunch with Nicholas because he has been asking everyday for about three months if they could come over. I finally just called my girlfriends to come down. Then I had to get the kids to nap...which Nicholas did NOT! ugh! Then I started dinner because I was bringing dinner to my friend who just had a baby. Shawn was having a friend over to watch the game and eat. And I called his wife to come over, too, after she finished up work. Then Nicholas and I were off to swimming lessons. whew. But I couldn't believe it... Nicholas was all the way across the pool from me and he was just having the best time. I don't think he stopped talking the entire forty minute lesson. I noticed a couple times he missed his "turn" because he was just yapping and not paying attention to the instructor. He is probably too young. But, we are in the class so I will see how it goes. I am just hoping that in a couple more lessons he starts to listen and get the hang of it. I am not hoping he will become an olympic swimmer, just that if I take him to the water park he will be able to kick and paddle and not be scared. He did awesome before when we went to the waterpark, but that was before we had Stella. And this place is awesome, so I want to take him this winter. Oh, yeah, it is an indoor waterpark. They have a toddler time during the day and the little ones can play on the big pirate ship and go down the little water slides. Shawn and I like going, too. Anyway, here are some pictures from his lesson. Yes, they are blurry. I sat really, really far away.

Nick trying to enter the pool before he is allowed

Nick waiting his turn.

Noodle ride.

Fetch.

fall is here

I wonder if everyone else feels super busy during this time of the year...or is it just me? Maybe if I weren't so darn tired these days! The kids don't seem to want us to sleep at night. Stella's excuse is teeth. But she did better last night. Maybe because the night before I decided I was going to put up the fight and not nurse her back to sleep. So she cried for two hours. I did the whole go in and pat her back thing and finally after two hours she gave in and fell asleep. But she may not have woken up in the first place if Nicholas hadn't woken up screaming and running into our room at 2am. We got him settled down and sure enough Stella woke up fifteen minutes later. Then we were up until after 4. Now Nick's excuse is most likely because it is darker now at night and he can't see as well. Maybe it startles him. So we are going to put out his second nightlight and see what happens. But sleep or no sleep, we are still making it out of the house and doing our "norm." Today was yoga and a book study. Yesterday was just a meeting. Tomorrow is nothing!!! BUT, I think we are going to head down to Anchorage and look at the party store. Somebody has a birthday coming up!!! And I think I am going to suck it up and brave a party. I was unsure if I wanted to do a real party or not, but Shawn did some research on Monday and found all kinds of ideas for a Go Diego Go party. I am psyched now!! I already told Shawn that he is going to dress up like Diego!! So I am going to go to our one party store here and see what I can get locally. The rest I will order online. I need to start working on that, too so that I can get everything shipped up here in time. I have a few weeks, but you just never know what the shipping options are for AK.

Well, I snapped a few cute pictures of the kids playing this weekend.





Nick just woke up from his (much needed) nap!

And here is one of Stella spitting! See the spit flying out?


Oh and there are a few new photos on our flickr link...